The Inevitable Winter
by BingoZero
Summary: Sakura is on a failing mission with Gai-sensei and Rock Lee in search of Sasuke. She discovers the whole thing was a trap set by Kabuto. Things look their grimmest without any sign of a silver lining on the horizon.


_Where's Gai?_ Sakura was thinking to herself as she ran through the interior of an abandoned fortress. This whole mission was suspicious from the start; the client's name had an "Alan Smitty" quality that they knew was fake when Tsunade-sama assigned Sakura to work with Gai and Rock Lee. "A prince that had been away for thirty years returns to his homeland to find that the castle has become a base for a group of rouge ninjas and bandits." Was making the cover story sound out of a fairytale less obvious that it was a set up or more?

Sakura slowed down to catch her breath, she finally found a window to pull her out of absolute darkness. She looked out the window to see a band of men chasing Lee. Her stomach clenched thinking of Lee being outnumber like that. She shouldn't have told Tsunade-sama to accept this mission. It was obviously a trap looking back. But it had... details that compelled Sakura to get involved.

"The gang was led by a young man, looked like a teenager. He had black hair and weird hypnotic eyes. He attacked my guards with a strange jutsu where he held lightning in his fist and it made a lot of noise. Possibly they were the recently disbanded Sound Ninjas that were looking for a place to hold up." Sasuke... Sakura was too blinded by the prospect of finding Sasuke again that she let herself walk right into this trap. It had only been a month since Sasuke defeated/absorbed Orochimaru and broke up the Sound Village. And the location of the "castle" wasn't that far away from the Sound Village. There was a chance, and that's all Sakura cared about.

Tsunade was obviously skeptical, she was secretly planning on sending a couple ANBU to scout the situation and see if Sasuke was in fact involved and deal with it appropriately. But when Sakura found out about it she pressed the issue. Not wanting to get Naruto involved as well, Tsunade agreed to let Sakura take the mission on the condition she kept it secrete from him. Tsunade assigned Gai and Rock Lee to work with her on the mission, knowing that their strength and team work should be enough to pull this off even if it was going to be the mother of SNAFUs.

Sakura had her panting under control trying to make as little noise as possible. Gai and her were searching the inside of this four story tower while Lee checked out the perimeter. But they got separated. There were an ingenious amount of traps in this building, and the ninjas that confronted Sakura and Gai were leading them through all of it. Sakura believed that she had killed two pursuer and ran away from five others. Finding this small room for respite.

Then she smelled his breath. The hot controlled stream of air. The slight smell on his teeth. Sasuke was in the room with her. Sakura wanted to spin around to see him but she was frozen standing there thinking that she might have actually found him. As she stood there frozen when she felt a powerful stunning hit send her soaring off her feet and out the window. As sakura free fell out the window, with shards of glass flying everywhere, she felt every muscle in her body convulse with pain. She must have missed the brunt of the chidori as, while she was falling, she could see the arcs of electricity shower out of the window.

Sakura landed hard. There were rocks everywhere. The impact broke a leg and twisted her spine, then she hit her head on the ground. She couldn't tell if she had broken any ribs but she felt pain everywhere. She began raising her self up with her arms. Her head was throbbing and it was making her dizzy. But she needed to move, she needed to make sure. Sakura looked up at the window and saw Sasuke's silhouette. He stood there and jumped out landing in front of Sakura. But the man that landed wasn't Sasuke. He didn't even look like Sasuske; he had to be middle aged and had a shaved head with a scowl on his face.

She couldn't believe she was fooled by some kind of genjutsu but there was this burly man staring her down and slowly approaching. All she could make out was a whisper. "...no..." Then it came louder.

"no... no... No... No No No NO NO NO! NO!!" As she screamed the last word a voice said in her head with new fearsomeness "FIGHT!"

A surge pulsed through her whole body as she lunged forward and delivered a fast and devastating punch. The man went flying backwards skidding off the ground and plowing through the wall. That should have been enough to kill anyone but as she slammed her fist into his face his whole body erupted in a puff of smoke. She feared he used the replacement technique but he still went flying backwards and there were no bodies around to swap with. Sakura hobbled forward to confirm that it was him that she hit but when she looked into the hole in the side of the wall she saw the limp body of Sasuke.

She almost broke down in tears, she fell on the body trying to see if he was still alive, trying to revive him. Calling his name and using a small array of healing jutsu, Sakura was trying desperately to understand what is happening at the castle and trying even harder to undo what she just did.

Sasuke jolted back to life. Sakura actually started crying tears of joy over this. She began raising Sasuke and herself up. She was smiling and saying his name the whole time. Sasuke was focusing on breathing before he took notice of Sakura. He then looked up, inches from her face, and his eyes became steel.

"Sakura, I'm going to kill you now."

With a sharp movement, Sasuke kicked Sakura good leg and sent her falling on her back. Sasuke stumbled as he lost the support she had provided the second before. He might have broken Sakura's other leg with that one move but she couldn't tell. She fell back in aw from his words. She was too confused and frozen from it again. But the voice in her head came back and this time it took control with its words "KICK THE CREEP'S ASS!!"

As Sasuke prepared for only a moment to launch a finishing move, Sakura sprung off the ground landing another pulverizing punch to his face. Before Sasuke could go sailing into the sky again she reached out with her other hand and grabbed his shirt. She pummeled his face with blow after blow landing five or six before letting him go.

Her adrenalin was rushing as she sat there with the slumped Sasuke lying in front of her. Her head throbbed with pain as her brain was racing around this whole thing. "Why did Sasuke do this? Why did I even take this mission? Where are the others? Can I walk?" Sakura let the air out as she breathed in sobs. She was looking around the area, it suddenly seemed more desolate then before with no signs of either Gai and Lee or the enemy ninjas. But as her eyes rested on Sasuke something caught her eye.

The destructive punches that Tsunade-sama had taught her had the power to shatter the ground so it could be expected what a person's face would look like after five or six of these punches. This was strange; Sasuke's body had a head attached with a face smashed in, but it wasn't Sasuke's face. It looked like at some point during the beating Sasuke's face had come loose and was just hanging off the side of his head, but under that was someone else's face that she beat into nothing.

Sakura crawled closer to get a better look at this extra face. She could see very fine threads hanging off from the Sasuke face. Stitched on, someone had stitched Sasuke's face onto a exact body double. Sakura let out a gasp of disgust as she realized what was in front of her. This was a forbidden technique she read about in a black medical ninja book. But more then looking like him, he breathed like him, he sounded like him, he was his exact double.

She snapped away from this line of thought when she felt eyes on her. Up in the window that she fell out of she could see a cloaked figure standing there. The man leap from his perch and was standing before Sakura in a flash. Sakura was trying to move out of the way, attempting to fortify some kind of position. The man took two steps then moved his head to look down on the faux Sasuke. He was looking down at the body and was speaking to Sakura.

"Aw. You broke it. Finding bodies like that is hard. I was hoping to lure him with it." The man said as he slowly lifted his head, "But maybe I can do better with your corpse."

That voice. That friendly, comforting voice. Sakura almost had forgotten it, but here he is speaking to her again.

"Kabuto..." Sakura uttered.

Kabuto pulled back his hood then pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose with a pleasant smile on his face.

"Hello, Sakura-chan." Kabuto said in a sing-song fashion.

His smile hiding the traitorous devil that he is. He walked slowly up to her, sizing her up, analyzing how badly she was injured and how well he could use her to continue his plot. Sakura only had seconds before she could react. The voice in her head trumpeting "get up! GET UP!"

Sakura lifted herself up. She couldn't stand on her right leg, but she bore an unbearable pain in her left as she hobbled into some kind of fighting stance. Kabuto paid no mind to her standing, he continued to advance towards her, contemplating what to do with her after he defeated her.

The inner voice of Sakura took over her whole being. Her eyes burned with passionate anger. She pulled back her arm like a pitcher about to throw a ball and threw a mighty punch at Kabuto. Kabuto deftly avoided it as if he was walking around someone moving slowly in a crowd, interrogating her with his eyes the whole time. The arc of her punch left her wide open as Kabuto circled around her. With two fingers extended he swiped them diagonally across her back.

Sakura's legs gave out under her; completely unresponsive. The air in her lungs frozen with pain; choking just to breath and eyes wild with delirium. Then, unexpectedly, Sakura delivered a powerful uppercut landing it square on Kabuto's jaw. Kabuto flew back with explosive force, landing twenty yards away.

Coughing as the air began to return to her lungs. Sakura tried to focus hard enough to see where Kabuto landed. Her vision didn't want to hold on one place but she forced herself to watch Kabuto as he lied there. To her dread Kabuto rose to his feet, chuckling loudly. His eyes met her gaze as he cracked his neck as if to casually make himself more comfortable.

Kabuto began pressing forward towards Sakura again. His face showed he was continuing his plan that he was thinking of before she hit him, but now he showed a smirk like he learned a new trick from his prey. Kabuto finally made a decision and began charging at Sakura.

Fear swam in Sakura's stomach as Kabuto ran towards her. She had little recourse and didn't know how long she could continue like this. Despite the inner voice that guided her Sakura's hands trembled. She was in desperation and didn't know what reserves she had left.

The gap between Sakura and Kabuto closing too fast for Sakura to come up with any last second tricks. When suddenly the air was split with the loud cry "Dynamic entry!!" Rock Lee came soaring through the air with jump kick hitting Kabuto in the center of his chest. Kabuto went flying back for a second time as Rock Lee positioned himself between him and Sakura.

"You have hurt the one most beloved to me. For this there is no forgiveness!" Lee yelled with a seriousness that held hateful anger in every word, "Prepare to fell the full wrath of the beautiful green beast of Konoha!!!"

"Lee..." Sakura gasped at this arrival. Rock Lee had not even turned to face her, his eyes fixed on Kabuto, but she could tell that he had already opened one of his gates. His breathing was even and controlled as energy pulsed within him. Kabuto just lied there, his body not even stirring. Rock Lee held his ground, watching him, feeling with all his senses around him.

In a flash Lee performed a graceful flip away from where he stood as two hands reached out of the ground for him. The body of Kabuto disappeared in a puff of smoke as the real Kabuto climbed out of the ground from where Rock Lee was standing. Before he could finish resurfacing Lee kneed him in the face and then with both fists held together slammed Kabuto in the back of the skull, forcing his face in the dirt. Kabuto rolled with a sweeping ground scissor kick that Lee dodged but Kabuto followed with a straight punch that brought him to his feet and knocked Lee off his.

Kabuto threw off his black cloak, giving him greater mobility. The cloak drifted and swirled in the wind that was blowing in the area. Lee got to his feet with a forward flip charge, head butting Kabuto. While simultaneously grabbing Kabuto's collar bones, digging his thumbs under his skin, and flipping him back wards, launching him head first into the ground. Without pausing Lee delivered a spinning side kick to the cloak that was dancing in the wind.

Another one of Kabuto's tricks. The body Lee threw into the dirt disappeared in a cloud of smoke and the cloak blocked the kick, revealing the real Kabuto again. Lee delivered a succession of kicks with the same leg. His face showing his disdain for Kabuto's petty tricks. Kabuto blocked each kick, and with the last grabbed Lee's leg, spun him around to build speed and hammer threw him into the side of the wall of the castle.

Spinning to catch himself on the wall of the castle Lee launched himself off it and quickly repositioned himself between Kabuto and Sakura again. He was not going to allow Kabuto a straight line to his beloved Sakura. Kabuto noticed this. The two took a few steps back sizing each other up. Lee knew about Kabuto's healing ability but was surprised by how powerful a ninja he was as well. The two both knew they needed to fortify.

Lee began preparing to release several more gates while Kabuto reached behind his back for something. Lee was quicker on the draw and released his sixth gate before Kabuto could reveal what he had hidden behind his back. Orange energy flared around Lee's body. His eyes glowed pure white. His muscles bulged with veins forcing their way to the surface. Every muscle moved with inhuman speed and strength. Before Kabuto could pull out what he had in his hand, Lee was on top of him performed a shattering mule kick. What Kabuto dropped out of his hand was a simple and small scroll.

Kabuto went soaring straight into the air. With his hands, Lee launched himself up towards Kabuto. Kabuto was not completely off guard. On the trip up he was performing a series of hand signs, at the peak of his rise up Lee had caught up to him. Lee grabbed a hold of Kabuto's body, crushing his ribs and arms. Spinning wildly, Lee slammed Kabuto's head into the ground. While screaming "Secondary Lotus!"

But instead of Kabuto's head being destroyed by the earth bellow, his entire body burst into hundreds of snakes, spilling all over and escaping Lee's grasp. The snakes slithered all over. Lee was momentarily taken aback from not knowing how to approach this. This was long enough for the snakes to start to reform into Kabuto, and now they had the scroll and it was already unraveled. Before even Kabuto was completely reforms he yelled "Release!" and out from the scroll came a new horror that completely disgusted and confused Rock Lee. From the scroll flew out fourteen dead bodies, landing limp and lifeless, scattering the area with corpses.

As if Kabuto thought this was time for practical jokes and he had the morbid version of spring snakes. The humor was lost on Lee as once he saw the completely reformed Kabuto standing there holding the scroll out from his body, Lee sprung into action. With sharp moves, Lee karate chopped the arm holding the scroll, breaking it so the hand could touch the elbow. Followed by another karate chop to Kabuto's neck, making his head bounce off shoulder to shoulder like a rag doll. Finishing with a blunt punch to the chest, with a cracking sound like every organ inside his chest was ruptured. Kabuto fell back.

Before Lee could launch a new line of assaults on the limp body he felt a powerful round house kick that sent him tumbling through the tall weeds surrounding the castle. When he looked up he found all the dead bodies were now animated and took the guise of Kabuto. The Kabuto-corpses began to move into a strategic pattern as they bought the real Kabuto some time. Kabuto was wheezing as he poorly attempted to stand. His head flopping forwards without any control, he kept falling over from lack of support from his broken left arm.

Four of the bodies began to advance on Lee in a coordinated move. Another six moved in to cover flanks and provide reinforcements. The other four were circling off to cover a position that Lee couldn't see what advantage it offered. The corpses moved with the same speed and strength that Kabuto had, but they lacked his regenerating abilities, but then, they didn't need it. The first wave's attack was very well practiced and gave very little room for Lee to maneuver. But the second before he launched his counter attack a shrill cry shot out of the field. The last four corpses had circled around and began throwing shrunkens and other weapons at Sakura. She was deflecting most as best as she could but many were getting through.

Lee stopped his attack abruptly and started running towards Sakura. This left him completely open to the remaining ten Kabuto-corpses. They were landing horrible blows with their fists and blades but Lee took them all and kept on moving. His muscles ripped as he moved so fast. In a flash he swept the four attacking Sakura, scattering and knocking them back, the other ten hot in pursuit, several turning their attentions to Sakura now.

Lee ran to Sakura's side, he held her close while he absorbed the attacks that were intended for her. As he held her he whispered into her ear, "Don't worry Sakura-chan, I will gladly die to save your life." Sakura looked up in shock, on his face was his gentle "nice guy" smile and for the first time saw that in the smile held a whole world of love and caring that was only meant for her. Before she could speak Lee was gone again, standing with his back to her, looking through the crowd of corpses at Kabuto standing. His head was on straight again and he was shaking his arm to make it rigid again.

"Open Final Gate!!!" The Earth shook with these words. Lee heard a deafening explosion as his ear drums popped from the force of power surging though him. His skin turned red like he was a devil from hell. The air around him was pushed away by the force of the aura he was emitting. Standing in the vacuum that surrounded him it felt like the air had been thick like molasses and he could finally move freely. But he only had one breath of air in his lungs, but then again, he knew he would never need another one.

A sonic boom cracked like a thousand thunder claps at once with Rock Lee's movements. A trail of roaring fire left behind his path. With every step his muscles exploded, whittling them down. In less then two seconds the Kabuto-corpses were nothing but flying body parts in a fine mist. The real Kabuto was whole again by the third second and very alert. Before entering the fight with Sakura he had taken a variety of performance enhancing drugs, one allowed him to see everything as if slowed down and enhanced his speed and reaction time to match the speed of what he sees. Despite Lee's impossibly fast moves, Kabuto could still see them. He knew that the jutsu Lee was using left him in an incredibly weak state and the slightest attack should kill him before Lee could kill himself. Kabuto has only to react first.

Kabuto's hand was ready with a dagger and he was looking straight at Lee charging at blinding speed. He had the timing figured out, Lee would run straight into the blade without being able to stop. Kabuto braced himself for the lunge. As predicted Lee held his course, Kabuto pushed the dagger through where Lee was running and into Lee's chest. Lee's face held a look of shock as his body disappeared in a flair of smoke. Only leaving a log toppling in the direction of his run. Lee appeared behind Kabuto crouched and ready. Rock Lee had performed his first and only ninjutsu.

The kick Lee deliver was like a cannon ball sending Kabuto flying into the air with a huge hole through his side. Lee leap into the air grappling and jumping off the friction of the air itself, he launched himself into diving attacks at Kabuto sending him even higher into the air. With each hit large chunks of Kabuto would come flying off. His wounds attempting to close and heal as instantly as they were made. But Lee kept sending him higher taking more and more off as they went up.

At two miles in the air Lee grabbed a hold of Kabuto's torso, and with a cry that could be heard from all the heavens "Final Lotus!!!" They descended down at even faster speeds then accelerating up. The sky cracked with their fall. Their bodies burning on the way down. They crashed, leaving an inverted mountain for a crater, impaling the Earth itself. The last bought of the fight between Rock Lee and Kabuto ended in only five seconds and Kabuto completely destroyed. Due to Lee's temporary God-like strength he survived the crash but only had a few more moments to live.

During the crash Sakura had toppled down most of the way of the crater, she crawled as quickly as possible to Lee. She arrived to find his skin badly burned, just starring up at the sky. Sakura grabbed a hold of Lee, with tears streaming down her face. "Lee! You can't die! You can't die! I love you! I love you, Lee! Don't die!" Sakura pleaded, confessing her love.

But Lee couldn't hear it, he had gone deaf to defeat Kabuto. He had lost feeling in his extremities, he only felt very hot. Sakura's tears landing on his face felt cool and refreshing. He wanted to hold her but his arms wouldn't move. He was happy to see Sakura. He was happy...

Sakura sobbed uncontrollably when Lee passed. She couldn't stop or restrain it. In the distance she could hear some one yell "Lee?!" Gai-sensei was running to the scene as fast as he could. Sakura didn't know what had detained him but the loud noises from outside fitted him with a chance to escape and see what had happened. Gai saw the crater and soon found his his fears realized.

"Lee! LEE!!!" Gai cried, falling to his knees.

"Sakura?" Gai couldn't even finish his question, and Sakura couldn't even begin to give him an answer. They were both sobbing so much that only the raw emotion communicated.

Gai-sensei gently scooped up Lee's body like a new born. Then lifted and hoisted Sakura up on his shoulder. They didn't even try to communicate anything now, they both knew the mission was a failure and Gai was now returning them all home. On the long sad journey home Sakura could see that Gai had also been badly injured but he kept moving through it.

They arrived in Konoha in about sixteen hours. Sakura had to see immediate medical attention, Gai declined any and went home without speaking. Lee's body was received and prepared for funeral. Lee's funeral was given two days later. Sakura couldn't leave the hospital despite desperately wanting to attend, but all of Rock Lee's other friends and family attended, except Gai-sensei. Kakashi was worried that Gai didn't attend and paid a visit to his home after the service. He waited a long time before Gai came to the door. He only opened it a crack and starred at Kakashi with a horribly sad look on his face. Kakashi tried to talk to him but Gai slowly closed the door not saying a word. Kakashi was worried, but believed he needed to let Gai grieve.

A month had passed. Everyday Kakashi visited Gai's home. Most of the time he didn't even open the door, he barely ever spoke.

Sakura was making good progress at the hospital, ironically, Tsunade sent a team to recover parts of Kabuto's corpse and from them learned a great deal to his secretes of instant regeneration to aid in Sakura's recovery. But her mood had drastically changed. She now knew the sobering taste of loosing a loved one. She was left with the burden of maturity.

A month and a half passed. Kakashi had become genuinely concerned about Gai. This day he was determined to enter Gai's house and talk to him. To his surprise, when he approached the front door it opened for him and in the doorway was Gai-sensie. He had become terribly thin. He now wore drab charcoal colored cloths that hung loose on the once mighty man. He also shaved the hair off his head. His face look worn with sadness and worry, guilt and fear. This person standing in the doorway looked completely alien to Kakashi's boastful, self proclaimed rival.

"Gai, what are you doing to yourself," Kakashi said with a look of shock. "You haven't left your house for six weeks. Everyone is worried."

"Oh. No one needs to worry about me." Gai said as if he had a weight on him.

"You can't live like this, Gai." Kakashi said with concern, "I know it's tragic that Rock Lee died, but he died protecting the person he loved, just like you taught him. He lived his life to the fullest, you filled his life with a zeal that touched everyone. He got that from you. Your other students still need you."

"No. No, they don't need me. They haven't needed me for a long time. I'm not going to burden them anymore." Gai said with a bitter look.

"That doesn't sound like the Gai I know, what happened to the Gai who never backs down from a challenge? What happened to the Gai who never shrugs off responsibility? The Gai who always goes the extra mile just to learn from it? What happened to the Spring Time of Youth?!" Kakashi said with increasing passion.

"No. There is no more spring time. Now there's only winter..." Gai said with a sad far away look.

"Damn it Gai! Get yourself together!" Kakashi grabbed a hold of Gai as he shouted, "You're talking about abandoning everyone you've known and loved! About leaving everything in this world you've ever known! You're going to have to snap out of it, you're still alive, damn it!!"

Gai surged at Kakashi, he grabbed his arms with a flicker of the old strength he had just a short while ago, but now his hands trembled. Quickly his strength reclined, Kakashi could feel how feeble he became in just a few weeks.

"I'm leaving the village, Kakashi." Gai finally said, "I don't think I'm ever going to come back. Say what you want. Do what you want. I don't care. I'm leaving."

Kakashi released his grip on Gai, letting him walk past. Words were failing him when his comrade needed him most.

"Gai..." Kakashi tried to make one last plea.

"Kakashi, my old friend, I have passed on my greatest technique to my star pupil." Gai stopped and looked at Kakashi with a small amber of satisfaction in his eye. "He took it to heart and all my lesions and exceeded them all far beyond anything I have been capable of achieving. In doing so he shinned brighter and made the world a more beautiful place for everyone. I can do nothing more then that. Sayonara, my old friend."

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

**Well... That was sad. Rock Lee had always been a favorite character of mine. With his goofy style, dedication, and power. How can you not fall for his charms? But the genius of hard work is always in the shadow of tragedy. He never catches that last leaf. **

**Originally I had this as sort of two stories, one a fight between Sakura and Kabuto (medical ninja fight!). Another where Lee dies and Gai is devastated by the guilt of not being there to save him. In keeping with his promise after Lee's fight with Gaara, Gai starts dying after Lee's death.**

**Like stated in the story, this takes place a month after Sasuke absorbs Orochimaru. Kabuto's secrete plan was lure Sasuke to the castle with rumors of his double being there, or with the mission he sent to Konoha, lure Naruto there and convince him (or kill him and use his corpse) to join with him and search for Sasuke. Once Kabuto had Sasuke he would try to revive Orochimaru. The technique Kabuto uses is called the Dead Soul Skill, where you basically use a body as a more sturdy clone.**

**Also, the reason why Gai was detained was he was fighting a room full of ninjas specifically trained to take down Sasuke. A whole caravan full of former Sound A-list ninjas bent on reviving their leader and village. Obviously this story isn't suppose to fit into the cannon of the series.**

**Unrelated, this is my first story not about Kankurou. So I think I will take some space here to write a little about him (sort of). In Japan there was a different manga/anime called _Karakuri Zoushi Ayatsuri Sakon_ (_Puppet Master Sakon_). Its a story about a teenager named Sakon who teams up with his ventriloquist dummy, Ukon, and goes around the country solving murder mysteries (why can't we have cool premises like this in the States?). Sakon and Ukon, hmm? These names sound familiar. Maybe its coincidence or maybe Masashi Kishimoto is taking a shot at _Puppet Master Sakon's_ author Marou Sharaku by having his puppetry themed character kill off characters with Sharaku's character's names.**

**Well, there you go. I hope you like the story. Take care.**


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